Is Goldman Sachs Trading Desk a Statistical Casino?

Everyone knows the casino always wins. It’s a mathematical certainty. Goldman Sachs (GS) made money on their trading desks every single day last quarter. So, is Goldman Sachs the “house” for global markets?

Yesterday, Zero Hedge eloquently noted that this is “Unfuckingbelievable.” It is. Goldman’s achievement is as rare as a major league baseball player batting 1000%. Unless the game is rigged, it’s statistically impossible. Zero Hedge adds:

If you ever wanted to see what monopoly looks like in chart form, here it is:

In the quarter ended March 31, Goldman made money on every single trading day. The firm did not record a loss of even $0.01 on even one day in the last quarter. That’s 63 days profitable out of 63 trading days. The statistic probability of this event is itself statistically undefined. Goldman is now the market – or, in keeping with modern market reality, Goldman is the house, it controls the casino, and always wins. Congratulations America: you now have far, far better odds in Las Vegas that you have making money with your E-Trade account.

Adding to the alice in wonderland insanity of this announcement, the firm made over $100 million daily on 35 different days. Of Goldman’s $9.7 billion in total Q1 revenue, 76% came from trading. Forget investment banking, forget underwriting, forget advisory: over three quarters of the firm’s value is based on being the house to the biggest corrupt casino in existence. Ever.